Garden Herbs and Medicine: Grow, Harvest, Use

Anyone have any experience using Lichen for wounds? My grandmother use to use it on the hunting dogs to stem blood flow and she said 'prevent infection' because teh dogs wouldn't lick it off. It tasted kind of peppery and was a grey green color and looked like lace.
I think this is it but not positive identification. I can find it in the woods but not on the internet =)

Useful Links

lichen | Silphium Food

 

Lichen is a moss. I know that moss is used on wounds. I have seen the plant you pictures. Was it on a tree?


http://www.unomaha.edu/lichens/Bio 4350 PDF/Uses of Lichens.pdf

 

it grew on oak i think, i just wondered if anyone has actually tried it on humans. If I find it again I will post.

 

Did you see the picture on page 10 of the link? Some lichen is bad but the stuff that is green and grows on pines seems to be the good stuff. That picture you posted actually looks like a filler plant you can buy at a nursery for your flower garden. I know I have seen a plant that looks like it. But if yours came off a tree then it is lichen.

 

Another way to preserve herbs is in alcohol needs to be 96 proof
In italy its called' Amaro' and each region has its own flavor. The emphasis is on local grown herbs. Below are a couple of recipies but you can make your own from things grown in your area.

Summer Amaro

• 5 cups good quality vodka
• alpine strawberries
• anise hyssop
• jujubee berries
• bay leaf
• basil
• basil mint
• calendula
• coriander seeds
• fennel seeds
• hops
• lemon balm
• lemon grass
• lemon verbena
• lovage seeds
• marjoram
• nigella seeds
• golden oregano
• pineapple sage
• plum
• rosemary
• rose petals
• sage
• tarragon
• thyme

Taste daily the first week, and giving it a good shake, making sure all the ingredients stay submerged in the vodka. After two weeks, decide if the Summer Amaro is robust enough, or if you want to keep it infusing for another week or two. Four weeks is usually plenty of time for this infusion. When the Summer Amaro is declared ready, Strain it and give it a taste. It might need a bit of simple syrup. The fruit and berries in this creation are seem to be plenty of sweet.

A 'Bitters' Version of Amaro​

• Herbs
• Grapefruit
• Fruit
• Spices
• Vodka
• Raw organic cane sugar
• Water

1. Pick a selection of herbs from your garden. Or your neighbour's herb planter, or a friend's, or whatever is available at your local store. With emphasis on local. You want to highlight what grows in your region. I have several kinds of oregano and thyme, a few sprigs of mint (wanted the subtle taste), rosemary, some sage, and lavender.
2. Put the herbs in a large wide mouth jar, add rind and juice from half a grapefruit as the bittering agent, and half a fruit local to your area. I had an Ambrosia apple.
3. 
   
4. Find some of your favourite spices and add to the mix, if desired. I'm a pepper fan, so added some bright red peppercorns. And fennel fronds and stalks, as it's one of my favourite vegetables.
5. Pour in vodka to cover the herbs, screw the lid on tightly.
6. Leave to infuse away from direct sunlight for at least four weeks, shake the jar once a day.
7. After the four to six weeks have passed (a bit longer is fine, work with your calendar), make the simple syrup using equal parts of water and raw organic cane sugar (1.5 cup of each for this batch). Do not use regular white sugar.
8. Drain off the herbs and spices and add the simple syrup to the remaining liquid. And taste! Now it gets really exciting.
9. Leave in a glass jar or pour directly into bottles with a tight-fitting closure. Be patient for another two weeks, let the flavours mellow, again out of direct sunlight.
10. When the two weeks are up, find yourself a pretty liqueur glass, pour in your homemade Amaro, sip, and enjoy. This makes a great gift for the Holidays.

 

On our hike today I found some lichen. I find that when I am hiking now, I am always looking for edibles and medicinal's.
Usnea, Medicinal Herb of the Forest - Sustainable Homesteading

 

THis lemon basil has been alive in this jar with no aeration and only water changes for over one year. Bedtime I will get a darker container because this container let's some light in and causes algie browth

so I had to spray it with some anti algae and fungal spray made from neem oil and oregano. This is a good all around antifungal for all stages of growth.

This is a recipe for antifungul that I got from a friend of mine who has large green houses. He helped me Taylor this for small personal indoor gardening. I use it for rinsing seeds (or you can use hydrogen peroxide diluted with water) and I spray once a week on Sunday on my micro greens.

1/2 t Potasium Bicarbonate
10 Drops dawn (emulsifier)
15 drops Neem oil (cold pressed)
15 drops Oregano oil
1 liter water

shake it up. a little goes along way


this basil was trilmmed back heavily and the water changes 2 weeks later it looks like this



below is a picture of the roots you can see I did not get rid of all the algae